Opposites Attract
by Joey Sohma
Summary: Mello was hotheaded and a leader. Matt was airheaded and a follower. When the two are forced to room together at the orphanage, will the boys become the best of friends, or the worst of enemies?
1. The New Kid

Author's Note: Hey, my first Matt and Mello fanfic that DOESN'T involve an OC! - First time writing in a first-person POV as well. I hope it comes out ok. This story isn't really intended to be yaoi, but there could possibly be unintentional fluff. ANYWAY! I hope you enjoy It would be awesome if you could tell me what I can fix/improve on and reviews would be nice -

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"Matt, I'm bored. I need you to get me some more chocolate. Are you listening to me? MATT!" I threw one of my books at him. It hit the back of his head. 

He turned, holding his handheld game with one hand and rubbing his head with the other. "Geez, Mello, what was that for?" he muttered.

I scowled. "Get your lazy ass off _my_ bed and get me some more chocolate" I took a bite of the bar I had in my hand. It was the last one I had. I scribbled down a few words on the paper I was writing. I took another bite of chocolate. The bar was slowly depleting. "_Now_, Matt."

With a loud and long sigh, Matt rolled onto his back, and got off my bed. He brought his game with him. "I'll be back."

I got up to retrieve the book I had tossed at my friend. I looked at the cover of the text, and sighed before sitting back down on the floor and continuing my notes.

"Here." Matt dumped a handful of chocolate bars on top of my books, then climbed back onto my bed.

I glared up at him, then brushed the chocolate aside, and began to unwrap another bar. "I was reading that," I mumbled, munching on the chocolate.

"You're always reading," Matt commented. What he did next caught me totally off-guard. He flung himself off the bed on top of me.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I shouted, my heart pounding. I didn't expect him to pounce on me, and Matt wasn't exactly a pillow. "Get off; you're heavy."

He didn't. "You should stop reading, and have some fun!"

It felt like my bones were about to break. "Matt…"

"Play a game with me! OH! EVEN BETTER! Let's go play soccer!" His eyes brightened.

I couldn't take it. I flung him off, pinning him down. "And if I don't want to play soccer?" I asked, wondering if he would end up dragging me outside anyway. But I never said I didn't want to play; soccer was probably my favorite sport.

"You'll just have to come anyway!" He struggled and fought to get free. He managed to break away, and we began to wrestle, arguing over weather or not we were going to play soccer. We began laughing.

We weren't always friends. I remember when Matt first came to the orphanage, how much I hated him. I never thought that the two of us would become friends. That we would become best friends.

----------------------------------------------------

The day had started like a normal Saturday morning. I had gotten up, gone to get breakfast, then went outside to play soccer with the other boys. The day was going just fine, until Roger had pulled be aside.

"Something wrong, Roger?" I asked. Normally I didn't get yelled at until sometime after lunch, when I started to pick on Near. I hadn't done anything wrong…yet.

He gave me a warm smile. "Nothing is wrong, Mello. But there is someone I want to introduce you to." He began to walk back inside, expecting me to follow.

_He wants me to meet someone? _ I thought, tilting my head to one side. Who would want to meet me, of all people? I followed Roger, still keeping my distance. I pulled a chocolate bar from my pocket, and began to munch half-heartedly on it, still wondering who I was supposed to meet.

Roger stopped when we reached his office. He opened the door, and brought me into the room. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Matt," he apologized, sitting down at his desk.

_Matt?_ I then noticed we weren't alone.

A red-haired boy with bright blue eyes was sitting in one of the chairs in front of Roger's desk, playing a video game. "S'okay," he replied, not looking up from his game.

"Mello, have a seat." He motioned to the chair next to the red head. I cautiously sat down, casting glances at the new boy. "Now, Mello, I'd like to introduce you to Matt."

Matt looked up from his game for the first time since we entered the room. He looked over at me, and gave me a goofy smile. "Hi there! I'm Matt!"

What an obnoxious voice! This kid was way too happy for my liking. Why the hell would Roger want me to meet him? Unless… "Roger, what the hell do you think you're doing?" I demanded, growing angry. There was no way this game playing kid was going to be…

"Matt is going to be your new roommate," Roger answered calmly. "There aren't any empty rooms, so we need to share rooms now. Matt is new here. I thought that since you're one of the few that have been here longest, you would be able to show Matt around."

I was stunned. Was Roger insane? "There's no way in hell I'm rooming with this kid!" I shouted. "I don't want a roommate! Stick him with Near!" I didn't even know this Matt kid, but I could tell I was going to hate him. That stupid smile, his energetic personality, and the fact that he couldn't go 30 seconds without playing that damn video game of his.

Roger frowned. "Mello, you know Near would never allow anyone to room with him-"

"NEITHER WOULD I!" I roared.

"Mello, you're going to have to let Matt room with you. There's no other way this can go." He was beginning to raise his tone. If I kept this up, he'd get real pissed real fast. "Please take Matt to his new room. And try to get to know each other."

Before I knew what was happening, I was standing outside in the hallway with the stupid new kid. Ignoring him, I began to walk to MY room.

He followed. "That Roger guy's pretty old, isn't he?" he asked me.

"No shit." I walked faster.

"Hey, did you pick the name Mello, or did they give it to you?" Again with the questions.

"I didn't have a choice. What kind of name is Matt anyway? It's pretty stupid." I needed to ditch this kid. He was starting to get on my nerves. But it was too late; we were already outside my room. I cursed under my breath.

Matt seemed unfazed by my insult. "I dunno, I kinda like it. Hey, is this our room?"

I rounded on him, fuming. "No, this is MY room. You are NOT going to stay here! You can go find someone else to put up with you!" I yelled, gritting my teeth. This kid was persistent; why did he have to ask so many stupid questions?

"Is something wrong?"

"NO!" I roared, looking to my left to see who had asked. When I saw who it was, the color drained from my face. L stood before me, frowning. "S-sorry!" I choked.

L looked at Matt. "You must be the new person around here. My name is L." He introduced himself with a smile. He turned his thoughtful gaze to me. "Aren't you two supposed to be rooming together?" he questioned.

I nodded weakly. "Y-yeah. I-I'm supposed to be showing him our room." How I managed to say that much still amazes me. I was embarrassed to get scolded by L.

"It sounded like you two were fighting. I could hear you from the library."

I couldn't move. L had heard me from the other end of the orphanage. What was I supposed to say? I figured I might as well apologize. To L, at least. "We were. I'm sorry, L." I looked down, ashamed.

Surprisingly, he ruffled my hair. "It's ok. Just make sure Matt gets settled, ok?" He gave me a quirky smile before turning to return to the library.

"So, the room?"

I had almost forgotten Matt was standing there. "Right," I growled. I didn't want to get L angry with me again, so reluctantly I pushed open the door to our room.


	2. Soccer

It's already been one week since Matt became my roommate. One _long, painful_ week.

I looked over at him. He was sitting on his bed, playing a game. "You make sure to stay on your side. You got that?" I growled, biting into a chocolate bar. "And turn off the damn sound; I can't concentrate." I was trying hard to study for a science test I had the next day, and the obnoxious music coming from his game was making it hard to focus.

"Oh, sorry! I'll put my headphones on!" He paused the game, and shuffled through his bedside drawer for a set of headphones. He plugged them in, and the music disappeared.

Without thanking him, I returned to my studies. But it wasn't long before my door crashed open. "Dammit," I muttered, looking up to see who was going to get their ass kicked for disturbing me. "Near."

The white haired boy stood in my doorway, holding onto one of his toys. "Are you studying?" he asked me, shuffling over to my bed to look at the book.

"Get the hell out of here," I snarled, glaring at him. How dare he come into my room without knocking? How dare he even come near me!

He didn't leave. Instead, he turned his attention to Matt. Noticing he had headphones on and was completely oblivious to the world, he returned his cold gaze to me. "Roger wants to know-"

"Tell Roger if he wants to know anything, he can drag his own lazy ass down here and ask it himself," I snapped, biting angrily into my chocolate bar. But I bit down with too much force, and my teeth scraped together. I made a face; that hurt.

Near frowned. He always had a frown on, it seemed. He still didn't leave. Instead, he continued what he was saying before. "Roger wants to know how your rooming arrangement is working out. It seems you two are completely oblivious of each other. Would you like me to tell him that?"

"Would it get you the hell out of my room?"

Without an answer, he left my room as quickly as he had entered, and closed the door behind him. I was about to start studying again, when someone else entered.

"GOD DAMMIT WHAT DO YOU PEOPLE WANT?!" I shouted, slamming my book closed.

The girl flinched. "I'm sorry, Mello!" Linda gracefully entered my room, carrying her favorite sketchbook. "Good afternoon boys!" she greeted cheerfully. She was always quick to change emotions. She tapped Matt's shoulder to get his attention. "Hi there!"

He grinned, looking as stupid as ever. "Hi Linda! Whatcha doin'?" he asked. "Make any new drawings?" He pointed to her sketchbook.

"Yeah! I went outside this morning and drew some of the flowers! Wanna see?" When Matt nodded, she sat down next to him on his bed, and opened the sketchbook.

I rolled my eyes, starting to get aggravated. "Are you just going to sit around talking about flowers, or did you have something important you wanted to say?"

Linda jumped. "Oh, right! Some of the boys are outside playing soccer. Do you want to play?"

"Soccer?" we echoed in unison. I shot a glance at Matt. Did he like soccer too?

"Yeah! You guys are gonna join them, right?" She sounded eager, as if she had already told them we would play.

Matt switched off his game, and put it under his pillow. Putting his headphones back in his drawer, he said, "Sure! I love soccer!"

Linda beamed, clearly pleased. She turned her cheerful expression to me. "You're gonna come too, right, Mello? I know how much you love playing soccer."

Matt turned excitedly to me as well. "Wow, you like soccer too? I guess we do have something in common, huh? Let's go play!"

_Dammit! This is great, just great! Now he's going to want to play soccer with me all the time! It's bad enough he follows me around!_ I let out an exasperated hiss. I was about to say "no" when I realized soccer's a good excuse to cause him pain; I can kick him in the head with the ball and say it was an accident. With I twisted smile, I said, "Sure, I'd _love_ to play."

Linda looked like she was about to burst with joy. "Hurray! I wanna draw Matt and Mello playing soccer together!" She hurried out of the room to report to the others that we were definitely playing, and to find a good place to sit and draw us.

Matt bounced over to my bed, pulled me up, and dragged me out of the room. "Let's go!" he cheered.

I pulled my arm away. "Don't. Ever. Touch. Me," I growled, saying each word with force.

He looked alarmed. "Uh, I'm sorry! I didn't know!"

I scoffed. Sure, he didn't know. What was this kid, stupid? He's been here for a week, and still hasn't figured out all the rules? I sighed; I guess I would have the misfortune of telling him. "Listen up. There are only a few rules around here that you have to follow, you got that?" I began to explain the rules. "Ok, first up: I'm the boss around here. You do what I say, when I say it, no questions. Second: don't EVER touch me. It will end with you getting your ass kicked from here into next week. Third: I'M going to succeed L, not that dumb ass, thinks-he-knows-everything Near. My grades are important; you get between me and an A+, and I'll kill you. Fourth: if you even think about touching my chocolate, you've already dug yourself a grave. Any questions?" Matt shook his head, eyes wide as he listened. "Good." I brushed past him on my way outside. I needed to tell the others that Matt and I needed to be on opposite teams.

Matt ran after me, trying to keep up. "Hey, Mel, wait up!"

I froze halfway to the door. Mel? What the hell was that? I turned, eyes narrowed. "WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?"

"Mel?" he repeated. "Is something wrong with that?" 

"DON'T GO AROUND GIVING ME STUPID NICKNAMES!" I roared, then stormed outside. Now I really _was_ going to cause pain to him during the game. When I reached the field, the boys were still forming teams. I ran up to the captains. "Hey! Look, that red-haired brat and I have to be on different teams, got it?" I ordered.

The boys nodded their heads, eyes wide as if they had seen a ghost. "A-Anything you say, Mello!" one squeaked. When I turned around to stand with the others who were still getting picked, I could have sworn I heard one say, "Boy, Mello looks pissed. Better do as he says."

Matt came running over, waving. "Hey! Am I late?"

"Nope, we're still picking teams!" one of the captains answered cheerfully. "You wanna join my team?"

"'Kay!" He happily made his way over to the team, wearing one of his goofy grins. Boy, did I hate that smile of his. Maybe I'd knock some teeth out…

"Mello! Join my team!" the other captain called, pulling me away from my thoughts. I slowly joined their side.

"Let me play offense," I said as I passed the captain. He nodded. "Good." Now I could freely control how much damage I caused. Maybe he'll be goalie…

The captains finished calling out the names, so it was almost time to begin. They began sorting out positions. I was center. _Lucky me,_ I thought. Now I could steal the ball from the start and just keep striking Matt with it. _I wonder who's opposite center,_ I thought, rolling the ball to the middle of the field. The opposite center stopped it with his foot. I looked up to see who it was. My jaw dropped. "Oh, HELL no!"

Matt stood opposite me with a huge grin plastered to his face. "Hey, Mello! I'm center too! Isn't that great?"

_What would be great would be to hit myself in the head with a rock,_ I said silently, biting into my chocolate bar. I didn't say anything, just waited for the game to start. As soon as it did, I pulled the ball back, and aimed it at Matt's stupid, smiling face. _Direct hit!_ Matt was knocked backwards, covering his face with his hands.

"Ow! Man, I should have dodged that! Haha!" He sat up, laughing it off.

"You ok?" someone asked.

"Yep, I'm fine!" He jumped up as if the hit to the face didn't happen. "Come on, we gotta win!"

I cursed. It was going take a lot more than that to break him. I ran after the ball again, and this time kicked it into his stomach. Winded, he fell once again. And once again, he got right back up and laughed. _This will be harder than I thought._ I decided to actually play a bit. Maybe if I tired him out, he wouldn't get up and laugh after I smashed the ball into his face.

After I scored about five goals and made Matt run after the ball, he was starting to look tired. What was worse was that I used almost all my energy to get him to lose his. But I couldn't give up; I needed to destroy him. I took control of the ball again, and power shot it at his face. He was sent flying! This time he didn't get up. He just lay there, looking stupid. Did I knock him unconscious? I decided to check. Besides, I needed the ball back. I looked down at him, and almost kicked him. He was smiling!

"Hahaha, I'm pretty unlucky, aren't I?" He slowly sat up, rubbing his nose. "I should be more careful!"

We continued to play until it started to get dark, and Linda came over to tell us to get ready for dinner. My team had won, and by the end of the game, Matt had two black eyes, a nosebleed, and other various bruises.

Matt followed me closely as we went back inside. "Wasn't that fun?" he wondered, sounding breathless. "You're really good at soccer, Mello! I wish I could play like you! I was a ball magnet, wasn't I?"

I stopped and spun around. Matt walked into me, and fell backwards. "Are you some sort of superhuman or something?" I demanded, looking down at him, frustrated and fuming.

"Huh? What do you mean?" He tilted his head to one side, looking completely confused.

"Every time you got smashed in the face, you would laugh and get right back up! Are you like, an iron man or something?!"

He started to laugh that annoying laugh of his. "No, I'm just a regular guy, just like you." 

_Did he just say he was like me?_

"But I was taught that when you get knocked down, ya gotta get right back up!" He stood, brushing himself off. "And that you need to endure pain, no matter how much it hurts!" He beamed, as if he were proud that he knew all this.

Unable to think of a response, I turned my head to the side. "Everyone knows that!" I huffed. I needed to have the last say in everything, and that line was a stupid way to end this.

Matt simply shrugged. "I guess so." His stomach suddenly growled loudly, reminding us that we were supposed to be on our way to dinner. "Heh. I guess soccer made me really hungry. Well, let's go! We don't want all the good food to be gone!" He ran off down the hallway, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Who was this kid named Matt? He's no one! He's just a no one who's in the way of me succeeding L. That was it, and nothing more. And with that, I stormed angrily after Matt.


	3. The Chocolate War

Author's Note: I finally updated! Shocker, I know! I have the fourth as well, but it needs editing. Just warning you in advanced, the next chapter will be EXTREMELY cheesy! But it adds to the plot, sorta, kinda, I would guess... My OC shows up for a second, Tsubaki, she be copyright me :) Anyway, please enjoy chapter three, and I hope to get four up soon!

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The library had always been one of my favorite places. I sat by myself, quietly doing my homework. Matt was sitting under a window near my table, reading. I noticed he read a lot. Well, when he wasn't stalking me or playing those damn video games.

I was almost finished with my math homework, when someone behind me said, "That's wrong."

I looked up. Matt was hovering over my shoulder, focused on my work. "What are you talking about?"

He pointed to one of the problems. "The answer is 16.21," he told me. "Try it again."

"Sure it is," I mumbled. I never got questions wrong. I decided to redo the problem, just to show him up. When I finished, I stared at the paper in disbelief.

He was right.

Matt grinned. "Good thing I'm really good at math, huh?"

I was in total shock. He was smarter than me? No. It was just a small mistake. I got everything else right. There was no way he was better than me.

"Did you know Roger said I was the third smartest here?" He sounded proud. "Yep. First is Near, then you, and then me."

I glared at him. "Yes, I know that," I responded bitterly, saying each word with force. Now I needed to study harder; not only to beat Near, but to keep that damn Matt from taking my spot. Just because he got that one problem right…

"Matt! Mello!" Linda came bouncing over, cheerful as ever.

"Hi, Linda!" Matt greeted her happily.

_Go away,_ I willed silently.

"Roger's waiting outside. He told me to get you two; it's your turn to help with the food shopping!" she reported.

I frowned. I hated food shopping. But maybe Roger would let me buy more chocolate. "Fine," I grumbled, getting up. "I need to put my stuff back first."

"'Kay! I'll meet you outside then!" Matt and Linda disappeared.

I gathered my books and my homework, and slowly began walking towards my room. Why did _we_ get paired together? Well, at least it was better than having to go with Near.

"Umm…do you know where L is?"

I looked up. A small girl stood before me. "No, I don't!" I snapped. "Do you expect me to stalk him? To keep tabs on him or something?"

She flinched, looking like she was about to cry. "N-No. I'm sorry Mello! Please don't hurt me!"

"Is something wrong?"

She turned. "L! There you are!"

He smiled. "Here I am. Go wait for me outside, Tsubaki. I want to talk to Mello. Then I'll play with you." She ran off, leaving L and I alone. I was silent, so he spoke first. "How are things between you and Matt?" he asked as we continued to my room.

I wasn't going to tell him I hated Matt, so I gave a simple, "Ok."

"From what I heard, you don't seem to enjoy his company."

I froze. L really _did_ know everything! "He…he bugs me a lot, and won't leave me alone!"

L frowned. "That's just who he is. You should try to become friends."

"I don't _want_ to become friends!" I protested. "I just want him to leave me the hell alone!"

"Fine." He stopped. We were outside my room. "If you won't be friends, at least learn to tolerate each other." He left me alone.

I bit my lip. Was L mad at me? Was he mad because I didn't get along with Matt? Frowning, I put my books in my room, then went outside to meet Roger and Matt. _L said to tolerate him,_ I thought. _I could…NO! I never could! Not in a million years!_ I violently shook my head, clearing the thought from my mind. By now I had reached the car.

The ride to the supermarket was quiet. Matt played his game and I ate my chocolate. Once we were there, we followed Roger silently, helping when needed. Everything was going well, until we reached the checkout. As we helped Roger unload the cart, he said, "Oh! I forgot to get bagels! Matt, Mello, could you go get a few bags of them?"

"Sure!" Matt agreed quickly.

"Fine." I stalked off after Matt. We went through just about every aisle in our search. I stopped when we passed bottles of hot fudge. "Wait."

Matt stopped. "What?" He noticed the chocolate. "Um, Roger said we needed to get bagels…"

"I'm getting this!" I pulled the seal off, then worked at the cap with my teeth.

"We gotta get bagels!" Matt tried to pull the bottle away. He squeezed it, and hot fudge covered my face. "Ah! Sorry!"

I glared at him. "Damn you!" I ripped open another bottle and shot the hot fudge at him. We continued to fight until both of us and the aisle were covered in fudge.

Lucky for us, the manager passed by. "Oh my…" She glared at us. "Get out of my store!"

We ran. Roger saw us, and stopped us. "What in the- No, never mind. Go wait in the car." He looked angry. We disappeared to the parking lot.

I sat on the hood of the car. "Thanks. A lot. Matt," I hissed forcefully.

"I told you- Hey! You said my name!" he cried excitedly.

"N-No I didn't!" I stammered. I couldn't have!

He gave me a cheesy grin. "Yes you did! You called me Matt!"

I frowned. I couldn't have said his name! But I did…And as much as I hated to say it, the chocolate fight was kind of…fun.


	4. I LOST the game

_Uggg this chapter is so freakin' short . And I'm so ashamed I wrote it; it has got to be my least favorite chapter DX Sorry in advance guys. But it's needed to show how their friendship is progressing! The first page of chapter five is buried in my backpack somewhere, so the next chapter will come even later than this one! Enjoy (if that's even humanly possible...)_

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I stretched out in a sunny spot outside for the first time in a week

I stretched out in a sunny spot outside for the first time in a week. After the supermarket incident, Matt and I had been confined indoors for a week. I had spent all my time in the library, and was glad to finally get some fresh air.

I was beginning to feel relaxed, when I felt someone staring at me. I opened my eyes, expecting to see Matt. He wasn't there. Instead, I spotted Near staring at me from inside. I closed my eyes, trying to ignore him. I kept feeling his eyes on me. Agitated, I stood up and went inside.

Near was standing by the window, still watching me. "Mello." He was holding a teddy bear at his side.

"What the hell are you staring at?" I demanded.

"Is it not obvious?" He twirled a strand of hair absent mindedly. "I'm observing you. You're very boring."

Boring? And what right did he have staring at me? Didn't he know that was rude? _Guess I'll have to teach him some manners._ I ripped the teddy bear from his hands.

"Give it back." He reached for the bear.

"No." To keep him from fighting back, I grabbed his hair.

"Ow! Let go!" He tried to push my hand away.

I looked around, trying to find a place to throw the bear where Near couldn't reach it. Instead, I spotted obnoxiously familiar red hair. "Hey!" I called.

Matt came running over. "Hi Mello! Eh? What are you doing?"

"Playing keep away from Near! Make sure he doesn't get the bear!" I motioned for him to run, and threw the stuffed animal.

Matt ran, and caught it. "Got it!"

I released Near, and took off after Matt. "Keep running. If someone doesn't spot us, he'll tell Roger or L," I explained.

"Won't we get in trouble?" Matt asked.

"Probably." We stopped, and looked around. For some reason, I couldn't recognize where we were.

Matt stood close to me. "Are we…?"

"N-No! Of course not!" I pulled out a chocolate bar from my pocket and ate it nervously. How could we have gotten lost? We _lived _here! But it was big, and there were some reasons I didn't feel like looking around in. I guess that's how we got lost. I turned to Matt, who was standing so close I almost elbowed him in the face. "Did you happen to notice which hallways we went down?"

He shook his head. "No, I was too busy running."

I frowned. "This is just great." I sighed, looking in the direction we had come. It was a simple hallway. If we walked down it, we should be able to find out way back. "Come on, let's go."

Matt followed me closely and silently. I almost forgot he was there until he spoke up. "Uh…Mello?"

"What?" He didn't need to tell me what he was about to say. The hallway began to split into different directions. We had no choice but to go down each one. Matt continued to follow wordlessly. I enjoyed the silence, despite being lost.

By the time we reached the main room of the orphanage, it was already dark out. Soon after, we learned that we had wandered into the teacher's wing. No wonder we had no clue where we were.

As we began to make our way back to our bedroom, Matt started to speak again. "That was wild!" he said breathlessly. "I wouldn't want to get lost again, but running gave me such an adrenaline rush!"

I looked over at him. "You found that fun?" I asked. _Could he help me pick on Near?_

"Yeah!" He cheered. "Like a video game!"

"So, you liked stealing Near's stuff?"

"If it gave me that rush, then yeah."

I smirked. Now we could give Near twice as much trouble. Excellent.


End file.
